Young Children and Trauma. Children can experience trauma as early as infancy. In fact, young children between the ages of 0 and 5 are the most vulnerable to the effects of trauma since their brains are still in the early formative years.
The typical onset age for PTSD is in young and middle adulthood. The NCS-R reported a median onset age of 23 (interquartile range: ages 15-39) among adults (Kessler et al., 2005). Two phenomena relevant to aging are delayed-onset PTSD and symptom exacerbation in late life.
For some, PTSD symptoms may be worse in later years as they age. Learn how as an older Veteran, you may still be affected by your past service. There are tips to find help as well. “The PTSD will hit you hardest when you retire or you're not occupied all the time.”
Early childhood trauma generally refers to the traumatic experiences that occur to children aged 0-6.
Key points. The older trauma survivors become, the fewer years they have left to repair, regain, and recover what they have lost. Aging's wear-and-tear on bodies and minds are further impacted and expanded by long-term anxiety, depression, and other trauma aftereffects.
Adults who have experienced childhood trauma usually have heightened levels of anxiety. They may worry excessively and have trouble managing their anxiety. It can lead to persistent feelings of sadness, lack of interest in activities, and difficulty experiencing pleasure.
Most unresolved childhood trauma affects self-esteem and creates anxiety. Did you suffer a serious childhood illness? If so, you were likely isolated at home or hospitalized. This meant being removed from normal social activities and you probably felt lonely, maybe even worried about being different.
Trauma experienced in childhood can echo into adulthood, influencing your behaviors, relationships, and ability to cope with stress. The effects of childhood trauma in adults influence people differently. For some, it can mean avoiding close relationships or triggering situations.
The effects of unhealed childhood wounds are widespread and can manifest in different ways in our adult lives. Common issues that can arise include low self-esteem, difficulty forming relationships, addiction, depression, and anxiety.
Triggers can include sights, sounds, smells, or thoughts that remind you of the traumatic event in some way. Some PTSD triggers are obvious, such as seeing a news report of an assault. Others are less clear. For example, if you were attacked on a sunny day, seeing a bright blue sky might make you upset.
In their analysis of pubertal development, the researchers found that children who experienced violence reached puberty at an earlier age than those who did not, but this was not true for children exposed to deprivation or poverty.
Most scientists agree that memories from infancy and early childhood—under the age of two or three—are unlikely to be remembered. Research shows that many adults who remember being sexually abused as children experienced a period when they did not remember the abuse.
Some Leading Causes
The most common causes of childhood trauma include: Accidents. Bullying/cyberbullying. Chaos or dysfunction in the house (such as domestic violence, parent with a mental illness, substance abuse or incarcerated)
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Research indicates that youth living with IDD experience exposure to trauma at a higher rate than their non-disabled peers.
Re-experiencing or re-living unwanted memories as flashbacks or nightmares. Hyper-arousal: problems with sleep, irritability, anger, anxiety, hyper-alertness, exaggerated startle response. Hypo-arousal: feeling numb or cut off, feeling detached from others, dissociating, feeling flat or empty. Emotional dysregulation.
An estimated 57% to 75% of Australians will experience a potentially traumatic event in their lifetime.
Emotional reactions to trauma
fear, anxiety and panic. shock – difficulty believing in what has happened, feeling detached and confused. feeling numb and detached. not wanting to connect with others or becoming withdrawn from those around you.
Initial reactions to trauma can include exhaustion, confusion, sadness, anxiety, agitation, numbness, dissociation, confusion, physical arousal, and blunted affect. Most responses are normal in that they affect most survivors and are socially acceptable, psychologically effective, and self-limited.
While some are unable to recall a small period of time, others are missing entire years of their life. Along with memory loss, other signs of repressed trauma can include low self-esteem, substance abuse disorders, increased physical or mental illnesses, and interpersonal problems.
If the trauma is left untreated, one can experience nightmares, insomnia, anxiety, depression, phobias, substance abuse, panic attacks, anger, irritability, or hopelessness. The individual might also begin to have physical symptoms such as gastrointestinal distress, rapid heartbeat, or extreme fatigue.
A study of young adults found that childhood trauma was significantly correlated with elevated psychological distress, increased sleep disturbances, reduced emotional well-being, and lower perceived social support.
Trauma also increased the risks for psychosis, OCD, and bipolar disorder. Significantly, those who experience trauma during childhood were 15 times more likely to be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder later in life.